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The first missionaries of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints arrived in Hong Kong in 1853; however, they had difficulty with the language, food, and culture. Years later, Elder David O. McKay, then a member of the Quorum of Twelve Apostles, dedicated the Chinese realm in 1921 during a visit to Beijing. In 1949 Elder Matthew Cowley of the Quorum of Twelve Apostles visited and dedicated Hong Kong for preaching the gospel. Unfortunately, this subsequent effort to establish the Church among the Chinese did not last very long, and the Chinese Mission closed in 1951. It wasn’t until 1955, with the establishment of the Southern Far East Mission, that Latter-day Saint missionaries finally returned to Hong Kong.[1] The efforts from the mission and the missionaries led to additional wards and stakes organized in Hong Kong. By 1996 the Church dedicated the Hong Kong Temple. In 2023 there were 24,611 members in six stakes, with one mission in Hong Kong.[2]

The Hong Kong China Temple, 2016. Courtesy of Po Nien (Felipe) Chou and Petra Chou.

Temples are sacred places of worship. In November 2023 there were 335 temples (including 186 temples dedicated, 53 under construction, and 96 announced).[3] Those who serve in the temple make it possible for the work of the Lord to move forward in bringing “to pass the immortality and eternal life of [men and women]” (Moses 1:39). This chapter highlights a number of Chinese pioneer women who have served as temple matrons in Hong Kong. Their preparation and service—alongside their husbands, who served as temple presidents—are examined to provide an overview of their experience and roles.

The Temple

The Hong Kong China Temple is in the Kowloon Tong District. It was announced on October 3, 1992, with ground broken and the site dedicated by Elder John K. Carmack of the Seventy on January 22, 1994. It became the forty-eighth temple when it was dedicated by President Gordon B. Hinckley on May 26–27, 1996. In 2019 it was closed to undergo needed renovation and later rededicated by Elder Gerrit W. Gong of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles on June 19, 2022.[4] During his visit and rededication of the temple, Elder Gong said, “This beautiful Hong Kong Temple invites us in this Asia area to draw closer to our Savior Jesus Christ, build daily our spiritual foundation and bless our family generations.”[5]

Across the street from the temple is a three-story Church building that consists of a meetinghouse, mission offices, housing facilities, and a distribution center. The temple site was built on a third of an acre with an interior of 51,921 square feet. There are two instruction rooms, two sealing rooms, and a baptistry. The temple was initially built with a spire on its top, but it was removed during temple renovations between 2019 and 2022, after which the temple was rededicated.[6]

Temple Matrons and Temple Presidents

Tai Kwok Yuen and Tai Lai Hui Hua (Flora), temple president and matron visit with President Gordon B. Hinckley during his visit to the Hong Kong Temple circa 2005. Courtesy of Tai Lai Hui Hua.

Temple employees may include a temple recorder, temple engineer, and those who care for the temple grounds or provide security. Moreover, temple ordinance workers are volunteers who assist patrons who come to worship in the temple. A temple matron and president are called to preside over temple operations and serve about three years. They may be called by a member of the First Presidency and set apart by a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles or other General Authorities. After they are called, the temple matron and president assign two counselors along with their wives as assistants to the matron. Together they are responsible to interview and train ordinance workers, greet and assist patrons, and speak at stake and ward conferences.[7] This allows the men and women who serve together to offer a complete and inclusive environment for those who worship.

Both temple matrons and temple presidents act under priesthood authority, and all must act under the guidance of the Spirit. President Henry B. Eyring counseled at the 2013 seminar for new temple presidents and matrons, “You must find ways to help your workers invite the Spirit into your temple. That will take your personal revelation because no two temples, nor temple presidents, nor matrons are exactly the same.”[8] Professor Barbara Morgan Gardner spoke specifically of the role that women fulfill as they act with priesthood power and authority in the temple.

Women who make and keep covenants in the temple have “the power of enlightenment, of testimony, and of understanding.” They can pray, receiving guidance from the Lord at an even greater level because of the endowment they have received in the temple. Women have the “power to thwart the forces of evil,” or, in other words, to contend and win against the power of Satan in their own lives, in their homes, or while they travel. They have the “power . . . to use [their] gifts and capabilities with greater intelligence and increased effectiveness” than they would have otherwise been able to. Women have the “power to overcome the sins of the world,” are “better qualified to teach,” and can protect and “strengthen their earthly families.”[9]

The priesthood power and authority of women who serve in the temple is a unique force for good within the Church. Temple matrons, who serve in full partnership with their husbands, act under this priesthood power as stewards in the house of Lord, overseeing the work of salvation in the temple.

Temple Matrons

Since the Hong Kong China Temple was dedicated in 1996, nine matrons and presidents have served therein. Of the nine matrons who served between 1996 and 2023, seven of them have been Chinese (see table 1).

Table 1. Chinese temple matrons in Hong Kong

Ng Lai Har Pang

On May 26–27, 1996, more than five thousand members of the Church attended the dedication of the Hong Kong Temple, including its first Chinese temple matron and president, Sister Ng Lai Har Pang and President Ng Kat Hing. They heard from President Hinckley, as well as messages from President Thomas S. Monson, First Counselor in the First Presidency, and Elder Tai Kwok Yuen of the Quorum of the Seventy. Other General Authorities in attendance included Elders Neal A. Maxwell and Joseph B. Wirthlin of the Quorum of Twelve. President Hinckley spoke of his long relationship and friendships throughout Asia since 1960. He greeted longtime friends during the dedication, including Sister Ng Lai Har Pang and her husband. President Hinckley said, “It was wonderful to see old friends that I’ve known since I first came here in 1960. These wonderful people have been true and faithful all these years when there have been difficulties, troubles, disappointments, but during which time the Church has consistently and steadily moved forward.” He added, “They have grown and developed as they have remained true to the Church and accepted responsibility for its operation here in their homeland.”[10]

Tai Lai Hui Hua (Flora)

Tai Lai Hui Hua (Flora), the second Chinese temple matron of the Hong Kong China Temple, lived in both China and Taiwan, growing up in Taichung and Taipei. Her father was a priest for a local Presbyterian church and traveled to Hong Kong multiple times on mission trips. Sister Tai requested to travel with her dad to Hong Kong in 1962. During the trip she was introduced to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and wanted to become a member.[11] When her father found out about Sister Tai’s hopes of joining, he was furious, so she decided to postpone her baptism until a year later. She was then baptized and confirmed a member. Sister Tai met her husband, Tai Kwok Yuen, in the ward choir, and they were later married in the Los Angeles California Temple and were sealed with their children. Her husband, Elder Tai, was the first Chinese person called as a General Authority, serving in the Quorum of the Seventy and in the Asia Area Presidency. Sister Tai faithfully served in many callings including as Primary president and teacher in the Relief Society, Primary, and Sunday School, as well as a mission leader alongside her husband.[12]

Tai Kwok Yuen and Tai Lai Hui Hua (Flora) served as temple president and matron of the Hong Kong China Temple from 2004 to 2007. Courtesy of Tai Lai Hui Hua.

One day President Hinckley called Brother Tai by phone and extended the call for Brother and Sister Tai to serve as temple president and matron. At the time, Sister Tai was abroad and did not get to be on the phone call, but Brother Tai felt confident that she would accept the call to serve.[13]

After accepting the call, Brother and Sister Tai traveled to Salt Lake City to receive a three-day training with forty-nine other temple presidents and matrons and to be set apart. Brother and Sister Tai were set apart by President Hinckley, which was a special occasion because of his engagement in Asia, especially in Hong Kong.[14] At the end of the three-day training, President Hinckley asked Sister Tai to share her testimony during the concluding session. She testified that she had found favor in the eye of the Lord and that she could feel God’s love for her as he extended the call to serve in his holy house.

Operations in the temple rotated between daily presentations by members of the temple presidency, matrons, and assistants to the matron on Tuesday through Saturday. Temple ordinance training for the ordinance workers was offered in both Cantonese and English. With great desires to be an effective temple matron, Sister Tai would regularly study the temple presidency manual to better understand the duties of temple workers and the sacred importance of the ordinances performed within the temple.[15]

Sister Tai felt that her service in the temple was made more complete because she had the opportunity to serve side by side with her husband. Their partnership reflected the teachings of Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, who taught, “The unique combination of spiritual, physical, mental, and emotional capacities of both males and females was needed to enact the plan of happiness. ‘Neither is the man without the woman, neither the woman without the man, in the Lord.’ . . . [They] are intended to learn from, strengthen, bless, and complete each other.”[16] Sister Tai often felt great joy serving in the temple and recognized abundant blessings God bestowed upon her and her family, including upon her children, who she felt were living testimonies of the Lord Jesus Christ. Sister Tai loved to support Brother Tai and wholeheartedly accepted any calling the Lord extended to the two of them. Brother Tai felt that Sister Tai’s family, father, and ancestors profoundly influenced her throughout their service, shaping who she became and how she served.[17]

Goo Kwong Shiu Kuen (Helen)

Goo Wai Hing (Charles) and Goo Kwong Shiu Kuen (Helen) served as temple president and matron of the Hong Kong China Temple from 2007 to 2010. Courtesy of Goo Kwong Shiu Kuen (Helen)

Goo Kwong Shiu Kuen (Helen) was born in Xiuguan, China, in 1945. Shortly after she was born, her parents moved and left her in the care of an aunt. When she was about seven or eight years old, she was reunited with her family in Hong Kong, where her dad worked several different jobs in commercial driving. Sister Goo was first introduced to the missionaries when her friend waved to them as they were walking down the street. She eventually attended activities for a few years until she was baptized in 1958 at the age of thirteen in the mission home swimming pool while her parents were out of town because they did not approve of her joining.[18]

Sister Goo attended BYU–Hawaii after then-Elder Hinckley heard of her life and counseled that she should attend the school. During her time there, she met and married her husband. Sister Goo has served faithfully in many callings including as a ward chorister and Primary counselor before becoming a member, as a Primary president at the young age of fifteen, and as a mission leader from 1986 to 1989. While living in Hawai‘i, Brother and Sister Goo worked diligently on their genealogy to identify their ancestors, which prepared them for continued temple worship and service. She was extended the call to serve as the temple matron in 2007 by President Hinckley, who by then was President of the Church. She attended training in Salt Lake City, where she was set apart by him. Sister Goo remembers that President Boyd K. Packer of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles shared during the training, “Being called to serve as the matron of the temple is the crowning joy of your Church callings.”[19]

Sister Goo served from 2007 to 2010. She recalls that her assistants to the matron were “wonderful” and that they would meet once a week to counsel together. Some responsibilities they shared including ministering to the sister temple workers and patrons, managing temple schedules, and managing the laundry facility. Sister Goo fulfilled many other responsibilities that may not be found in the handbook but left a deep and lasting impression on those who visited the temple. Because the temple served so many countries, many people would have to travel for several days to get to the temple. She would often make loaves of bread and bowls of soup for their journey, and she sewed skirts for women who arrived at the temple not knowing what to wear. She would also take the time, with her husband, to visit with the groups of travelers, answering questions and sharing counsel and instruction.[20]

Sister Goo remembers that one group visited the temple and brought around six thousand names for proxy ordinances. She and her husband allowed members to stay in the temple all day every day the entire week they visited so they could finish as much as they could. Sister Goo was always in the service of others and desired greatly for them to feel the peace of the temple, saying, “You see it in people’s faces as they come in, so much hardship in their face. [Then] you see them walking out of the temple [and they] feel like their walk is so much lighter. . . . That’s why people need to know they can come to the temple.”[21] Sister Goo shared of her experience, “I think the most important thing I learned about the temple is that it is the house of the Lord. You can feel the Spirit. When you see people in this celestial room praying, with tears, you know that they’re filled with the Spirit, that they have received their answers. They have received the revelation they need. And then you know that this is the house of God. His Spirit dwells there, you cannot deny it.”[22]

Many lives were touched by this devoted disciple, and her influence for good is felt by the thousands of people whose names passed through the walls of the temple. Hers is a legacy of love of God and people and an unconquerable faith in Jesus Christ.

Aki Choi Lai Wah (Lydia)

Sister Aki Choi Lai Wah (Lydia) and her husband, John Malulani Aki Jr., were living in Kaneohe, Hawai‘i, when they received their call to serve as temple matron and president of the Hong Kong China Temple in 2010. They said that this was one of “the great spiritual experiences of our lives.” President Aki was a missionary in Hong Kong from 1964 to 1966, whereas Sister Aki grew up in Hong Kong. She was baptized in 1959, and they served together as mission leaders in Hong Kong when the temple was first dedicated in 1996.[23] Sister Aki received her BS in education at BYU–Hawaii, and she served as a counselor in a ward Young Women presidency, teacher, and counselor in a ward Relief Society, visiting teaching coordinator, and primary teacher. Sister and President Aki have three children.[24]

According to a Deseret News article, they recall that “many who were taught had great faith to still join the church first, then wait for the Book of Mormon to be translated in 1966 and wait again for the temple to be built 30 years later. . . . In our lifetime, we were fortunate to witness the blessings of a loving Heavenly Father poured out upon hi faithful and patient children in Asia.” Sister and President Aki witness many members making significant sacrifices to travel vast distances throughout Asia to attend the temple and receive their temple blessings.[25]

Aki John Mululani Jr. and Aki Choi Lai Wah (Lydia) served as temple president and matron of the Hong Kong China Temple from 2010 to 2013. Courtesy of Aki Choi Lai Wah (Lydia).

Wong Lai Ling (Kathy)

Wong Lai Ling (Kathy) and her husband, Wong Chung Hei (Patrick), were called to serve as temple matron and president in 2013. Sister Wong and her husband grew up in Hong Kong, and during their teenage years, they were the first in their families to join the Church. Thereafter, they also had other family members who joined. Sister Wong and her husband met each other as young single adults attending the same branch and later married in the Provo Utah Temple in 1976. At the time of her call, Sister Wong previously served as a leader in both the Relief Society and the Primary organizations of the Church, as well as a full-time mother to her three children and as a grandmother to four grandchildren.[26]

Sister and President Wong had been living in Brisbane, Australia, for about four years when they received the call to serve and preside in the Hong Kong China Temple. During their service as temple matron and president, the temple welcomed members from various countries throughout the Asia Area, including members from India, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Singapore, Mongolia, Guam, Malaysia, Cambodia, Micronesia, Majuro, and Indonesia.[27]

Lee Chan So Tong (June)

Sister Lee Chan So Tong (June) was living in Texas when she received a call along with her husband, Lee Richard Fook-Suen, to serve as temple matron and president for the Hong Kong China Temple. She would be returning to Hong Kong, where she was born to Chan Konyil and Chan Maureen Mui Tsu.[28] As temple matron, she often accompanied her husband to visit various units of the Church in Hong Kong.

Sister Lee had previously served as a temple worker, in ward and branch Relief Society and Primary presidencies, and activities committee chair. Her experience as a temple worker helped to prepare her to serve as a temple matron.[29] However, there would be many other language needs in Hong Kong, as the temple district included members living as far as India in the west and Indonesia in the south of the Asia Area. Sister Lee served with her husband from 2016 to 2022. Their time of service appears to be longer than the traditional three years of service, but it also included a time when the temple was closed for extensive renovation from July 8, 2019, until July 19, 2022, when Elder Gerritt W. Gong of the Quorum of Twelve would return to rededicate this temple.[30]

Chan Chow Kit-Fong (Isabel)

In 2022 Sister Chan Chow Kit-Fong (Isabel) began serving as the temple matron for the Hong Kong China Temple. At the time of her call, she was living with her family in the Shatin Ward of the Hong Kong China Lion Rock Stake. She was born to Chow Huen and Lau Ming Hee in Hong Kong and served in various callings over the years. She was a counselor in a ward Primary presidency and a ward music chairperson at the time of the call. She also served previously as a stake Relief Society president, as well as a ward Relief Society, Young Women, and Primary president.[31]

Sister Chan and her husband have four children. In 2009 she and her husband became mission leaders of the China Hong Kong Mission. She would later serve as an assistant to the matron in the Hong Kong Temple, which helped prepare her for her call as the temple matron. She had also served as a seminary teacher, which helped her to learn and teach the gospel to the youth.[32] Her service continues today.

Summary

The matrons of the Hong Kong China Temple have made a significant impact in the lives of the faithful Saints who serve there. Temple matrons and presidents work together as wives and husbands with different gifts, strengths, points of view, and inclinations; and together they work in harmony to serve the Lord to ultimately carry out his work of salvation among God’s children.[33] Women in the Church, including temple matrons, exercise priesthood power and authority while serving in the Church, in the temple, in their homes.[34]

The ultimate purpose of the temple, and thus of the temple matron and president, is to help bring salvation and exaltation to all God’s children. President Monson explained that temples brings us peace and spiritual strength in this life and added, “I think there is no place in the world where I feel closer to the Lord than in one of His holy temples.”[35] President Eyring spoke of the important role of temple presidents and matrons in the 2018 seminar for temple presidents and matrons, “In these sacred houses, you presidents and matrons will be leading the sons and daughters of God, along with their kindred dead, in their preparation to come into the presence of the Lord and dwell with Him in glory forever.”[36]

Notes

The authors are grateful for the research grant provided by the BYU Religious Studies Center and the contribution of their student research assistants, including JoYa Hsu and Sophia Gunter.

[1] See Po Nien (Felipe) Chou and Petra Mei Wah Sin Chou, Voice of the Saints in Taiwan (Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University; Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2017).

[2]“Taiwan” and “Hong Kong,” https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org.

[3] “Temple Statistics,” https://churchofjesuschristtemples.org.

[4]“Hong Kong China Temple,” https://churchofjesuschristtemples.org.

[5]“Hong Kong China Temple—a Sacred Place of Hope, Faith and Family—to Reopen,” Church News, June 22, 2022.

[6]“Hong Kong China Temple.”

[7]“Temple President - Mormonism, The Mormon Church, Beliefs, & Religion,” https://www.mormonwiki.com.

[8] Gerry Avant, “Temple Presidents, Matrons are Counseled at Annual Seminar,” Church News, October 21, 2013.

[9] Barbara Morgan Gardner, The Priesthood Power of Women: In the Temple, Church, and Family (Deseret Book: Salt Lake City, 2019), 94.

[10] Gerry Avant, “Hong Kong Temple Dedicated,” Deseret News, May 31, 1996.

[11] Tai Lai Hui Hua, interview by Jo Ya Hsu, December 12, 2022, Lā‘ie, HI.

[12] “New Temple President,” Church News, August 6, 2004.

[13] Tai Lai Hui Hua, interview.

[14] Tai Lai Hui Hua, interview.

[15] Tai Lai Hui Hua, interview.

[16] David A. Bednar, “We Believe in Being Chaste,” Liahona, May 2013, 41–42; 1 Corinthians 11:11.

[17] Tai Lai Hui Hua, interview.

[18] Goo Kwong Shiu Kuen (Helen), interview by Po Nien (Felipe) Chou and Petra Chou, January 24, 2023, Lā‘ie, HI.

[19] Goo, interview.

[20] Goo, interview.

[21] Goo, interview.

[22] Goo, interview.

[23] Trent Toone, “‘An Answer to Many Prayers’: Hong Kong China Temple Reaches 20-Year Milestone,” Deseret News, May 16, 2016.

[24] “New Mission Presidents,” Church News, May 5, 1995.

[25] Toone, “‘An Answer to Many Prayers.’”

[26] “Australian Mormon Called to Be Temple President in Hong Kong, China,” July 9, 2013,https://news-au.churchofjesuschrist.org.

[27] “Australian Mormon Called to Be Temple President in Hong Kong, China.”

[28] “New Temple Presidents Called for Star Valley, Hartford, London, and Other Temples,” Church News, May 9, 2016.

[29] “New Temple Presidents Called.”

[30] “Hong Kong China Temple,” https://churchofjesuschristtemples.org.

[31] “New Temple Presidents and Matrons Called to Serve in Bolivia, Peru, Mexico, and More,” Church News, March 3, 2022.

[32] “New Mission Presidents,” Church News, March 6, 2009.

[33] M. Russell Ballard, “Men and Women and Priesthood Power” (worldwide discussion for youth, September 2014), https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org.

[34] “Women and Priesthood,” https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org.

[35] “Australian Mormon Called to Be Temple President in Hong Kong, China.”

[36] Sarah Jane Weaver, “Temple Service Is ‘Crown Jewel’ of All Church Work, New Temple Presidents, Matrons Told,” Church News, October 31, 2017.